Pattern control means for looms and the like



Dec. 22, 1931. J. REYNOLDS ET AL 1,837,437

PATTERN CONTROL MEANS FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE Filed July 28, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet l 5 8 m A TTORNEY.

Dec. 22, 1931. J. REYNOLDS ET AL 1,837,487

PATTERN CONTROL MEANS FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE Filed July 28, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet ,2

BY 7%! mmzag A TTORNE Y.

1931- J. L. REYNQLDS ET AL 1,337,437

PATTERN CONTROL MEANS FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE Filed July 28, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS xl mmq A TTORNE Y.

Dec. 22, 1931. J. REYNOLDS ET AL 1,337,437

PATTERN CONTRQL MEANS FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE Filed July 28, 1930 5 S$1eets-Sheet 4 Q a All/EN 7-0125: BY JZPqynoZds aw J71? 421 /47. ATTORNEY.

Dec. 22, 1931. .1. REYNOLDS ET AL 1,837,487

PATTERN CONTROL MEANS FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE Filed July 28, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTORS:

JZ Reynolds am? A TTORNE Y.

Patented Dec. 22, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JAMES L. REYNOLDS AND JOHN M. MCKELV'EY, 01 CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, AS-

SIGNORS 015 ON E-THIRD TO ELLIS W. HENDERSON, OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA PATTERN CONTROL MEANS FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE Application filed July 28,

This invention relates to means for controlling the pattern mechanism of looms and also controlling the box motion mechanism of looms from a single pattern surface, wherein a pattern surface is provided having a pattern thereon, said pattern being in the form of a sheet of material having holes punched therein, which holes are adapted to control means, which, in turn, are adapted to control both the harness mechanism of a dobby attached to a loom, and also to control the box motion mechanism for determining the filling which is imparted to the fabric.

As is well known in'the art, certain looms are equipped with a conventional dobby head, which dobby head has a plurality of jacks and index fingers, which heretofore have been controlled by various means, one of such means being a continuous pattern chain, having rollers or projections thereon adapted to selectively operate the index fingers and the jacks for controlling the harness mechanism of the loom, and also certain means have been provided in the form of a separate pattern chain or pattern mechanism for controlling the box motion mechanism for determining which shuttle shall be thrown through the warp of the loom at pre-determined times for controlling the filling and color imparted to the fabric which is being woven.

It is an object of our invention to provide a single pattern mechanism which is adapted to control both the dobby mechanism of the loom, for controlling the harness mechanism thereof, and also for controlling the box motion mechanism for determining the filling which is placed in the fabric at predetermined times.

Another object of our invention is to provide a pattern control mechanism for looms wherein a pattern is provided having a plurality of control means integral therewith which are adapted to render operative a selected combination of dobby fingers, which, in turn, are adapted to operate certain selected jacks in the dobby mechanism for controlling the harness mechanism of the loom, for determining the design and weave of the fabric which is being woven in the loom, and also on such pattern are provided 1930. Serial No. 471,196.

certain indications, which are adapted to control certain pattern reading means which, in turn, are adapted to control certain shuttles in the shuttle box mechanism for controlling the filling which is woven into the fabric at pre-de-termined times.

Another object of our invention is to provide a pattern control mechanism for looms having a perforated pattern member adapted to be engaged at pro-determined times by certain pattern reading means, which, in turn, are controlled by perforations to render operative certain of the mechanism of the loom for controlling the pattern woven by said loom, and also in said perforated pattern certain perforations occur for controlling the box motion mechanism of the loom through certain pattern reading means, which are adapted to render operative certain combinations in the box motion mechanism for imparting to the fabric the desired filling at pro-determined times.

Another object of our invention is to provide a pattern control mechanism for looms wherein a continuous or endless pattern member is provided with a pattern cut in said pattern member, said pattern comprising a plurality of properly positioned perforations in said pattern, with a plurality of pattern reading means, and means for intermittently causing said pattern reading means to engage said pattern to be operated upon by said pattern, and said pattern reading means, in turn, are adapted to render operative certain jacks of the dobby mechanism of the loom for controlling the harness mechanism of the loom, and also certain of said pattern reading means are adapted to be rendered operative by the said perforations in said endless pattern to control the shuttle box mechanism for controlling the filling imparted to said fabric which is being woven by said loom.

Some other objects of our invention having been stated other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of our pattern control means associated with one end of a 100m;

Figure 2 is a reverse view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a plan view partially in cross section, taken along the line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view, taken along the line 44 in Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view of the. central portion of Figure 4, showing the shuttle box control mechanism;

Figure 6 is a plan viewof Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged detail view of the left-hand end 'of one of the levers shown in Figures 5 and 6;

Figure 8 is a view of the sprocket and associated parts shown in the left central portion of Figure 2, with the upper portion of the bearing cap removed;

Figure 9 is a cross-sectlonal vlew, taken through the upper portion of the pattern feeding cylinder, showing a portlon of the pattern associated therewith.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral 10 indicates the framework of a loom which has secured to one end thereof a framework 11 for housing the dobby mechanism and a portion of this dobby mechanism is shown comprising a plurality of acks 12, there being a corresponding ack hook 13 for each of the jacks 12, and also rockers 14 which causes the knives 16 to have imparted thereto a reciprocating motion through a connecting rod 17 on each end of the mechanism, the knife 16 sliding in a passageway 18, and in this framework 11 is a transverse shaft 19 on which dobby fingers 20 are pivotally mounted, these dobby fingers 2O resting in normal position on the cross bar 21, holding the jack hooks 13 clear of the knife 16 while in normal position.

The above described mechanism is conventional, and is associated with the harness mechanism of a loom for controlling the weave of a pattern being woven by the loom. The above described conventional mechanism which appears in a dobby loom has heretofore been operated by a control chain, and it is an object of our invention to pro; vide a new and improved means for controlling the dobby mechanism and also the shuttle box mechanism of a loom, and to this end, we provide supports 30 and 31, which we secure to the framework 10 on a loom by means of suitable bolts 32, and on these supports 30 and 31 we mount side members 33 and 34 by means of suitablebolts 35.

A conventional dobby drive shaft 36 is shown mounted in the framework of the loom, and on the outer end of this dobby drive shaft 36, we fixedly secure sprocket wheel 37 by any suitable means, such as a set screw 38, on which .a sprocket chain 39 is mounted, the said sprocket chain also being-- mounted on a sprocket wheel 40, which has integral therewith the extended hub 41 with the flange 42 on the other end thereof, which hub member 41 is mounted in a bearing 43,

which has a cap 44 secured thereon by means of suitable bolts such as 45, and in this hub member 41, which is hollow longitudinally thereof, we loosely and rotatably mount the shaft 46. This shaft 46 is also rotatably mounted in abearing 47, which is integral with the bracket 48, which is secured by means of bolts 49 on the side frame 34, and this shaft 46 has slidably mounted thereon an elongated clutch member 50, which has a tongue 51 which is adapted to engage a cavity 52 in the hub member 41 to cause the hub member 41 to drive the member 50, while at the same time driving the shaft 46 due to the fact that shaft 46 has a key 53 integral therewith which meshes with a groove on the interior of the hub member so as to allow longitudinal movement of the hub member 50 with relation to shaft 46 and at the same time cause the hub member 50 to rotate with said shaft. This hub member 50 has a circumferential groove 54 therein into which pins 55 and 56 on member 57 project for the purpose of adjusting the position of member 50 along the shaft 46. This member 57 is fixedly mounted on a shaft 58, which is turnably mounted in the side wall members 33 and 34, and this shaft 58 has a collar 59 thereon, and also a handle member 60 on the other end thereof most distant from the end on which the member 57 is secured to prevent endwise movement of said shaft 58. This handle member 60, which is fixedly secured on said shaft 58, has a tension spring 61.secured thereto, and the other end of this spring is secured on a pin 62 in the side wall 33, the said spring 61 having a tendency to normally pull in the hub member 50 into engagement with hub member 41 to impart con tinuous rotation to the shaft 46.

The shaft 46 has fixedly secured on the end thereof, which is remote from the hub member 41, a bevel gear 63, which meshes with a bevel gear 64, which bevel gear 64 is fixedly mounted on one end of shaft 65, and in close proximity to bevel gear 64 there is fixedl secured on shaft 65 a Geneva driver 66, which comprises amember 67, having a pin 68 therein, and also comprising a member 69, which serves as a guide, the pin 68 being set in the member 69 with the member 67 having a cavity 70 therein as is conventional in Geneva movements, (see Fig. 1).

Associated with the driving member 66 is a star wheel 71, having a plurality of slots 72' therein with arcuate cavities 73 between the said slots, which arcuate cavities 73 are adapted to accommodate the wheel 67 these arcuate cavities and the wheel 67 forming a lock to prevent movement of the star wheel 71 except when moved by the pin 68. This star wheel 71 is adjustably secured to a hub member 74, which is secured to a shaft 75 by any suitable means such as a set screw 76, and this hub mem r 75 has a circumferential groove 77 therein on which a belt 78 is mounted for driving a pulley 79 mounted on a shaft 80 in the bottom portion of container 81, which is adapted to house a pattern member 82, and on the other side of this container 81 is a shaft 83, and a conveyor, such as a belt 84, is mounted on the shafts 80 and 83, the purpose of this belt being to transfer the pattern from one side of the container to the other. This pattern member 82 is shown in a plurality of folds 85, 86, 87, 88, and 89, it being evident that the number of folds will be increasedas the length of the pattern member 82 is increased and may be accommodated in any desired container of any desired depth and breadth, and the purpose of this belt 84 is to convey the endless pattern over to the left in Figure 2 to cause it to be ready at all times to be pulled upwardly by the pattern feeding mechanism.

This star wheel 71, which has been described as being adjustably secured to the hub 74 is adj ustably secured by reason of the fact that the hub 74 has slots 90 and 91 therein, and bolts 92 and 93 are secured in holes in the star wheel 71 and penetrate these slots 90 and 91 and this permits relative adjustment of the star wheel 71 with relation to the shaft 75. This shaft is rotatably mounted in the side wall members 33 and 34 and has fixedly secured thereon a pattern feeding cylinder 94, which comprises a cylindrical shell indicated by the reference character 94 with disk members 95 and 96 at each end thereof for supporting the same, and this shell member 94 has a plurality of rows of holes 97 and 98 entirely around the same, each set of holes being adapted to receive certain pattern reading fingers, as will be presently described.

The pattern feeding cylinder 94 has at each end thereof a plurality of pins 99 and-100, which are adapted to mesh with holes 101 and 102 in the edge portion of the pattern number to feed the same and to cause the pattern to travel with the pattern feeding cylinder member, and also to cause the holes in the pattern to coincide with the holes in the cylinder 94. Mounted in the side frame members 33 and 34 is a pivoted shield memher 103, which is pivoted in said side wall members by being pivotally mounted on a rod 104 in said side wall members, the purpose of this shield being to hold the pattern member 82 in mesh with the pins 99 and 100 at all times to cause the pattern to be fed uniformly with the pattern cylinder 94.

On the other side of the cylinder member is a fixed shield 105, which is mounted on a transverse rod 106, which is secured in the side wall portions 33 and 34. This shield 105 presses against the pattern member 82 and causes the same to mesh with the pins 99 and 100 at all times, to cause the pattern to be fed uniformly by the pattern feeding cylinder 94. a

On the shaft 65, which is mounted in bearing members 107 and 108, there appears a cam member 109, whose highest ortion 110 is adapted to press against a pro ection 111, which is integral with the arm 112, which is pivotally mounted on the shaft 113, and is confined in position by means of collars 114 and 115, secured on said shaft, this shaft 113 being fixedly secured in'bosses 116 and 117, which are integral with the side wall portions 33 and 34. This lever 112 has a transversely disposed bar 118 secured on the free end thereof, which is adapted to intermittently raise the pattern reading members which will be presently described.

F ixedly secured on the rotatable shaft 65 is a hand wheel 119 and also fixedly secured on this shaft 65 is a cam member 120, which cam member is adapted to have pressed against the same at all times a roller 121 in the free end of lever 122, which roller is held at all times against said cam by means of a tension spring 123, which is secured on a pin 124 in said lever, the other end thereof is secured on the pin 125 in the side wall member 33.

Also, fixedly secured on the rotatable shaft 65 is a double cam member 126, which has semi-circular cavities 127 and 128 in each side thereof, the cavity 127 being-shown in Figure 5, and the one indicated in dotted lines by the character 128 in Figure 6 is identical to the one shown in Figure 5, except it is on the other side of the cam as viewed in Figure 5. This cam is adapted to operate shuttle box control levers 129 and 130, which arepivotally mounted on the shaft 113, and in one end of these levers 129 and 130 are the arcuate slots 131 and 132. into which latterly projecting pins 133 and 134 project, on which pins are pivoted rods 135 and 136, which are the conventional rods for operating the shuttle box mechanism.

On the other end of said levers 129 and 130, from the end which has just been described as having the arcuate slots 131 and 132 therein, are pivotally mounted dogs 137 and 138, respectively, which have integral therewith fingers 139 and 140, respectively to which are pivotally secured wires 141 and 142, respectively, which wires are secured to levers such as 143, the said levers being pivoted on a transversely disposed rod 144 in a mechanism which will be presently described. These dogs 137 and 138 are pivoted on pins 145 and are mounted on an off-set portion, as shown in Figure 6, so as to limit their swinging movement. that is, to limit the upward movement of the portion 139, or 140, as

,the case may be, so that when the portion 137, or 138, as the case may be, may pass into the cavity 127, or 128, as the case may be, that the revolving cam will force the dogs 137, or

138, as the case may be, downward to a certain point to raise the other ends of said levers upwardly to operate the rods 135, or 136, or operate both at the same time, as the case may be, depending upgn the punchin of the pattern, which will later describe Fixedly secured over the top of the pattern cylinder is a brace 146 by means of screws 147 to secure the two side frame members 33 and 34 together, and also spanning the distance between the side frame members 33 and 34 is a member 148 which has a slot 149 in which a rod 150 is loosely mounted and held in place by pins 150a and in this member 149 is a plurality of transverse slots 151, and in these transverse slots 151 are mounted a plurality of pattern reading fingers 152. The attern reading fingers are pivotally mounte on the rod 150, and project backwardly and downwardly beneath the dobby of the loom, where they have a hook 153 thereon, which is adapted to engage the lower end of lifting fingers 154, which fingers are adapted to be raised when engaged by the hook 153 to press the knife 20 of the dobby mechanism upwardly to allow the jack hook associated therewith, and indicated by the reference character 13 to engage the knife 16 to operate that portion of the harness mechanism associated therewith.

In the sidewall members 33 and 34 are provided bosses 155 and 156 in which is rockably; mounted the transversely disposed shaft 15 and in close proximity to the inner surfacevof these bosses and next to the inner surface of the sidewalls 33 and 34 is fixedly secured upwardly projecting arms 158 and 159 and these arms have vertically dis osed recesses therein into which are adjustaiily secured members 160 and 161 which have laterally projecting portions at an angle of approximately ninety degrees from the portions 160 and 161, which portions are designated by the reference characters 162 and 1 63, and to these members is secured a bar 164 by means of bolts 165 and this bar 164 has on the side thereof next to the framework of the loom, a longitudinally disposed channel 166 in which a rod 144 is mounted and held in place by pins 167, and the members 143 and 154 are also pivotally mounted on rod 144 and a transversely disposed bar 168 is secured immediately behind these members 143 and 154 to limit their rearward movement.

It is evident that the lever 122, which is fixedly secured on the end of the shaft 157 by means of set screw 169 and which follows the cam 120, will cause a backward and forward movement to be imparted to the arms 158 and 159 and will carry with it the pivoted members 143-and 154 and when any one of these members are engaged at their lower end by the pattern reading member associated therewith, or the hooks 153 thereon, it will prevent the lower end'of these members 143 and 154, as the'case may be, from travelling to the right in Figure 4 and this will cause the upper ends of the same to be raised and when the lever 143 is raised it will operate one of the box motion rods 135 or 136, as the case may be, and when one of the members 154 are engaged by the hook on one of the pat tern reading members 152 it will cause the upper portion of the same to be raised upwardly and raise one of the dobby fingers 20 to operate that portion of the conventional dobby head for controlling the harness mechanism of the loom.

The pattern reading fingers for controlling the dobby fingers 20 are indicated by the reference character 152, but by referring to Figure 3 it is seen that the two fingers for controlling the box motion mechanism are referred to by the reference characters 170 and 171,'and by referring to Figure 9 of the drawings it is seen that a hole 173 will cause the finger 170 to be lowered and to operate the lever 129 and the rod 135 to control one part of the box motion and when the pattern reading finger 171 falls into hole 174 it will cause the lever 130 to be operated to operate the rod 136 to control another portion of the shuttle box and should it be desired to control still a third portion of the shuttle box mechanism then the holes 175 and 176 are provided in the same transverse row to cause both of the fingers 17 0 and 171 to drop into these holes and thus by working both levers 129 and 130 will operate both rods 135 and 136 and will cause still a third combination to be operated to operate a third portion of the shuttle box mechanism. The operation of these rods singly or together is conventional, but not the means which we employ for operating them..

The pattern reading members 152 and 170 and 171 are heavier on the ends which carry the projections 180 and 181 so as to cause the same to fall against the pattern and engage the perforations therein by gravity when lowered by the bar 118.

The attern reading members 152 are of two di erent lengths, there being an alternate long and short member, and the downwardly projecting portion on each of the longer members is indicated by the reference character 180, while the downwardly proecting portion on each of the shorter memrs is indicated by the reference character 181. When a perforation appears in the pattern member 82, the projections 180 w11l engage holes 97 in one of the rows of perforations in the pattern reading cylinder 94, and the projections 181 will engage the perforations in the row 98, there being two transverse rows of perforations in the cylinder for each reading operation, the longer of the members 152 reading the forward row, and the shorter of these members reading the rearward row, as two rows are read each time the pattern reading members are lowered against the pattern member and are allowed to pass through certain perforations therein entering the perforations in the cylinder member.

The dotted lines 183 indicate the path traveled by the pro 'ections 180 and 181.

The pattern mem er 82 is, after being cut and after being placed on the cylinder,v

joined together by means of having the ends meet as at 185 in Figure 1, and thin strips of material 186 and 187 are pasted on each side of the pattern in order to make a continuous pattern member, and this makes it possible to run the mechanism continuously to repeat the pattern, if desired.

In the drawings we have shown our 'device associated with the regular dobby loom and have shown part of the means for operating the harness jacks of said loom, but we desire to be understood, and it is perfectly apparent that our device can, by slight modifications, be applied to a loom in which the harness is operated by a harness chain throwing a selected gear-wheel into operation by means of the chain operating the vibrator levers to cause the harness mechanism to be operated. In applying our invention to a loom of this type, the pivoted members 154 would operate on the vibrator levers in that type of loom instead of the dobby fingers in a dobby loom.

Also, it is apparent that our invention can be used in connection with a cam loom for controlling the box motion mechanism, as the box motion control means only would be used to control the box motion mechanism, as the harness mechanism could be controlled by the cams which are alread in the loom, and our device would be used or controlling the box motion mechanism, and, in that case, the pattern reading mechanism associated with the box motion operating mechanism could be increased to any desired number of reading members 170 and 171 to correspond with the number of shuttles in said box motion mechanism.

It is also evident that our invention can be applied to both ends of a loom, as it is well known in the art that dobby looms have been used with a dobby head at each end of a loom, or other types of looms, such as a vibrator gear type, and in which case it is, of course, evident that our invention can be applied to both ends of a loom with a loom equipped with mechanisms adapted to be controlled by our invention.

In the drawings and specification we have set forth a preferred embodiment of our invention, and although specific terms are employed they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forth in the appended claims.

We claim:

1. Means for controlling the design and filling in a fabric woven by a dobby loom com rising a framework and means for attaching the same to a loom, a cylinder mounted in said framework for rotation in a fixed position, means for intermittently rotating the cylinder, an elongated pattern sheet carried by said cylinder and having a plurality of rows of perforations therein forming a pattern controlling the desi n of the fabric, a plurality of other rows 0 perforations in said pattern sheet, forming a pattern for controlling the filling imparted to the-fabric, pattern reading means, means for moving the pattern reading means against the sheet while said sheet is at rest, and means controlled by said pattern reading means for controlling the warp of the fabric and also controlling the filling imparted to the fabric.

2.- In a dobby loom having jacks, jack knives, and dobby fingers for operation of the warp in the loom and also having a shuttle box mechanism for supplying filling to the warp, means for selective operation of the warp and filling, comprising an elongated pattern member, having rows of perforations for controlling the warp and having other rows of perforations for controlling the shuttle box mechanism, a reading finger for each row of perforations, means for simultaneously withdrawing said reading fingers away from the pattern and advancing said pattern step by step, and means op erable by. said readin fingers when said fingers penetrate a per oration in the pattern for operation of the dobby fingers to control the pattern woven by the loom, and means operable by the other reading fingers for controlling the shuttle box mechanism.

3. In a control for dobby looms, a pattern having a plurality of rows of perforations therein, means for intermittently advancing the pattern, pattern reading means and means for moving said reading means towards and away from the pattern, harness control means operable by said reading means when engaged in a perforation, shuttle box control means operable by a portion of said reading means, the shuttle box control means comprising a plurality of levers movable in one direction to control one shuttle and movable in another direction to control another shuttle.

4. In a control mechanism for dobby looms, a continuously driven member, an intermittently driven member, a pattern member mounted on said intermittently driven mem ber and having a plurality of longitudinally disposed rows of perforations therein, for controlling the design of the fabric and a plurality of rows of other perforations therein for controlling filling in the fabric, a plurality of pattern reading members, means for causing said reading members to intermittently engage the pattern and be controlled thereby, means associated with some of the reading members adapted to be 0 erated upon by the attern to operate the arness mechanism 0 the loom and means associated with other of the pattern reading members for selectively operating the shuttle box, and means for driving the control mechanism in timed relation to the loom.

5. In a control mechanism for looms haviniadobby head and harness mechanism and a s uttle box mechanism and dobby fingers, an endless pattern member having a plurality of rows of perforations therem, disposed longitudinally of the line of travel of the pattern and being selectively placed to form any desired pattern, a pattern drum fixedly mounted for rotation and having a plurality of perforations therein adapted to mesh with the perforations in the pattern, means on said pattern drum for engaging and driving said endless pattern, pattern reading means, means for intermittently causing said pattern reading means to engage said pattern and to register with said holes in said pattern drum, means controlled by said pattern reading means which register with said holes for raising certain dobby fingers and operating portions of the harness mechanism,

and means controlled by other reading means for selectively operating the shuttle box mechanism of the loom. I

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

JAMES L. REYNOLDS. JOHN M. McKELVEY. 

